CHANGING THE KEYBOARD OF A DELL INSPIRON 8600 LAPTOP
So I spilled water on my keyboard and it stopped working. This is what I did:
(1. Dried the laptop (while turned off) for 2 nights in a fan and then switched it on.
It turned on but the keyboard was still having problems. Some keys didn't work, others typed the wrong letters and some typed multiple letters. After much of a meaningless struggle of trying to mend the individual keys, I decided to get a new keyboard for my laptop.
"Dell Latitude D800, D600/Inspiron 8500, 8600 Series Keyboard (G1272) (G1272)"
It cost me around $70 including shipping via FedEx. It reached in 2 days.
Now this is how I replaced it:
Before Replacing:
1. Keep in mind that the keyboard is attached to the laptop in these ways:
1.1 Via a cable going to the laptop circuitry (below the space bar)
1.2 Via 2 screws (that are at the side of the Start button of the laptop)
1.3 Via some metallic protrudsions just inserted onto the sides of the laptop
2. The process has to be gentle, since you don't wanna damage anything, especially the cable connector connected from the keyboard to the laptop.
NEVER LIFT THE WHOLE KEYBOARD UP BY FORCE. IN FACT YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE TO LIFT THE WHOLE KEYBOARD. IT SHOULD ONLY COME UP ABOUT 1/2 INCHES FROM THE BASE UNTIL YOU HAVE UNPLUGGED THE CONNECTOR FROM THE BASE.
Pulling off the old keyboard
1. With a Knife (better if you have a thin screwdriver), gently remove the metal protrusions from the sides of the laptop. Just pull them a little up with the screwdriver, so they are out of the laptop's body.
2. Now to unscrew the screws lift the blue panel saying DELL INSPIRON on which the START button is. Start lifting it from your left. Pick it up a little from the left and then do the same from the right. Gently apply some pressure over it and it will come off easy. DONT PULL IT HARD SINCE IT HAS ATTACHMENTS ON ITS RIGHT. Now the screws are visible. There are 2 of them. Open them with a screwdriver (I did it with a knife)
3. Now see the connector from the keyboard to the laptop (below the space bar). There's a slim steel handle like attachment to it. Pull it gently. It will come off easy. Now gently take the keyboard off.
Attaching the new keyboard
1. Place the new keyboard in place of the old and the first thing to do is to connect the connector to the laptop. It will go in as simply as it came out. Pushing it using the steel handle is the trick.
2. Now screw back the keyboard to the laptop.
2. Next put back the POWER button panel. This should also click into place. If you position it right, you won't have to apply much pressure to put it back.
3. Next tuck the keyboard in from the sides. This almost happened automatically for me.
Voila! You're done.
Hope this has been helpful.
-Sid Azad.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the above article are solely the author's. He takes no responsibility whatsoever of the outcome of the procedure if followed by someone.
This material may be distributed only subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Open Publication License, v1.0 or later (the latest version is presently available at License)